MS. PERINO: Hello. I have two announcements. The first one is that
President Bush welcomes the agreement by the International Monetary Fund
shareholders to finance debt relief for Liberia. The United States, in
partnership with the G8 and the management of the IMF, the World Bank, and
African Development Bank, worked hard to secure the funding necessary for
100 percent multilateral debt relief. This follows our commitment to
provide $391 million in bilateral debt relief for Liberia. And
collectively, this will unlock significant resources in support of the
economic turnaround begun by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. We'll have a
statement out on that shortly.

In addition, today the House of Representatives will take up an emergency
supplemental bill to fund the global war on terror, including the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan. Once again, the Democratic leadership is starting
this debate with a flawed strategy, including a withdrawal date for Iraq,
despite the gains our military has made over the past year, despite having
dozens of similar votes in the past that have failed, and despite their
pledge to support the troops. And once again, they plan to send the
President a bill that they know he will veto. This is for political
posturing and to appease radical groups.

The President put forward this funding request based on the recommendation
of our commanders in the field. They know what the troops need to
accomplish the mission. The Democrats believe that these votes will
somehow punish the President, but it actually punishes the troops. This
punishes our military planners, our procurement officers and many others
who are working on this war effort. If the President is presented with
this version of the bill he will veto it.

Now I'll go to questions.

Q Dana, President Musharraf said in an interview today that emergency
rule would likely continue through the January elections. Would the White
House consider elections there to be free and fair if they're held under
emergency rule?

MS. PERINO: This is a question that I've answered several times from
reporters in this room and while we were on the road in Texas. What we
have said is that we want there to be free and fair elections; we want the
President to take off his uniform, which again he announced today that he
would do that by the end of November. We don't see how it is possible to
have free and fair elections under emergency rule. You want to have
emergency rule lifted so that people could protest peacefully, or that they
could campaign, and so that a free media can cover the election as we do
here.

And so we are urging Pakistan to return to its constitution, allow free and
fair elections, and to reestablish the foothold they had on democracy
before the emergency order was put in place.

Q Are you seeing any signs that the administration strategy towards
dealing with this crisis is working?

MS. PERINO: I think there have been some positive signs. For example, the
President said that there would be elections. He did say he would take off
the uniform. He did say the emergency order would be lifted; he just has
not said when. And we continue to work with Pakistan. We want to have a
long-term relationship with this country. In the past, we have waffled on
that and it did not serve us well. We lost in -- contact with an entire
generation of military leaders, of Pakistani military leaders. We need to
get back into the business of making sure that we don't just walk away from
a country because they made a mistake. We need to help -- work with them
to unite moderate forces so that they can have the democracy that they
started to have over the last several years, including the economic
benefits that come with that.

Q Does President Musharraf's announcement that he will, by the end of
November, take off the uniform sort of buy him some time with the White
House?

MS. PERINO: I don't know what that's supposed to mean, Jim. We want -- we
have called for there to be an end to emergency rule and the return of the
constitution. And that -- his announcement today doesn't change that.

Q Does the United States support the opposition parties coalescing
against Musharraf -- Bhutto and Sharif and --

MS. PERINO: We are supportive of people being allowed to peacefully
protest, to assemble, and to express their views.

Q But are you telling them that we would support them if they were able
to somehow -- support them against, I guess, the government of Musharraf?

MS. PERINO: I'm unaware that there are those conversations. What we are
talking to all of the parties about, including the government, as well as
the opposition parties, is to work with them to try to find common ground,
so that they can work together. It's important that they try to establish
open lines of dialogue and communication, so that they can return to the
constitution and get back to the path to democracy. What we're looking for
is moderation, democracy, stability, and the prosperity that comes with it.

Go ahead, John.

Q The administration has been urging Bhutto to work with Musharraf, for
the two of them to cooperate and talk. Is it a major setback that she now
says she will not work with him because she can't trust anything he says?

MS. PERINO: I think, John, that the situation evolves by the hour, as
you've been covering it over the last 10 days, but since the state of
emergency has been put in place. There are developments frequently. And
obviously the tensions are very high, and we understand the -- that people,
when they have feelings, that people express them, and we would hope that
people would be able to work together in Pakistan. We'll just have to wait
and see. The situation on the ground is evolving very rapidly.

Q So you're still hopeful that they may be able to cooperate --

MS. PERINO: We are hopeful that they can return to the constitution and
the path to democracy that they were on.

Q Dana, you had earlier, this morning, indicated the President would
likely talk about FISA in his remarks this morning; he did not. Was there
a particular reason he chose not to?

MS. PERINO: No, I think that was my mistake.

Q I mean, this is -- okay.

MS. PERINO: Last night there was -- the FISA markup that's happening today
was on my mind. I had -- there's a fact sheet that's going around for
review, and that's what I had in mind when I said that.

Q Okay, so no particular reason he chose not to?

MS. PERINO: No. But obviously, the President wants Congress to pass the
FISA bill, make it permanent. The version that the Senate Committee on
Intelligence put forward is one that we are broadly in support of. There
are other measures, such as the Leahy provisions, that we do not support.
And so we urge Congress to work closely with us in order to get a bill so
that we can keep that intelligence gap firmly closed. If you'll recall,
the bill that they passed in August would allow for this measure to expire
in February, which we cannot accept.

Mark.

Q Yes, back to the Iraq funding bill, Dana. The legislation that I
gather is going to pass this afternoon does not have a binding deadline in
it; it's a goal, it sets a goal. The President has said he would like to
bring U.S. troops home. And it's also --

MS. PERINO: And actually, the troops are coming -- are starting to come
home.

Q Well, and that's -- that was the other part of it. So why would you
veto something that's basically what he is already doing?

MS. PERINO: As I understand it, there is an -- the way we read it, there
is an arbitrary date for withdrawal. And I would remind you that it was
Senator Reid yesterday who said that if the President doesn't go along with
this, then he's not going to get his money. This is not money for the
President, this is money for the troops. And we are urging Congress not to
play political games. Think about it -- they only have approximately nine
legislative days left in their calendar in order to get all of this work
done. And I think that I have a slide here. I've had this up here before;
I'm going to show you again. There are 12 appropriations bills. They sent
one to the President that he signed yesterday, and one that he vetoed. I
don't know how many days have passed, legislative days have passed this
past year, but they only have nine working days left, and it is unlikely
that they'll be able to get all of this work done before that deadline.

Q And by "appeasing radical groups," are you talking about MoveOn.org,
et cetera? Or are you talking about the large numbers of Americans who
tell interviewers and pollsters that they would like troops home as soon as
possible?

MS. PERINO: I am talking about MoveOn.org and CODEPINK, in particular. I
would also say that they have held these same -- similar votes over and
over again. Dozens of these votes have been held. And in fact, on the
Senate side -- I realize this is a House bill -- but on the Senate side,
resolutions were passed earlier this year that said that it is the sense of
the Senate that we do not believe a withdrawal date is appropriate for this
war. And in case they have missed it, our troops are fulfilling their
mission in spectacular fashion. They are working to bring down that
violence in Iraq, to establish political reconciliation, to improve the
economy. People are starting to return to Baghdad and to their homes.
Pulling the rug out from under our troops now is the height of
irresponsibility.

Ann.

Q Does the President agree with the New York Governor, who has now
decided that illegal aliens and the licensing -- getting a driver's license
for them, it really is a federal issue, it's not one that the states should
enter?

MS. PERINO: The President did not agree, the administration did not
support Governor Spitzer's plan to provide driver's license to illegal
aliens. We did support that version of a plan.

Q Why?

MS. PERINO: We do not think it's appropriate for illegal aliens to have a
driver's license that all citizens enjoy. We want the REAL ID act to be
implemented, but we would suggest that perhaps if they are looking for
illegal aliens, that they be turned over to authorities, since they entered
the country illegally.

Now, at the same time, the President recognizes that immigration is a very
emotional issue, it is a hot-button issue, it is one that I am sure we will
hear a lot about in the next year debated. The President hopes that this
debate can be one that is respectful of people, and that it weighs the
economic issues, as well as the need to protect our borders and protect the
security of the country.

Connie.

Q Thank you. Dana, does this administration believe that democracy, or
free and fair elections are necessary at all costs, even if they lead to
extremist takeovers in Pakistan, Palestinian state, Saudi Arabia, or other
areas?

MS. PERINO: Let's think about this for a second, Connie -- 800 people in
Pakistan, over 800 people, have been targeted by radicals and extremists,
and killed just since the month of July. If that happened in this country,
can you imagine how we would be feeling. We united after 9/11 after 3,000
of our citizens were killed, and I believe that people of Pakistan want to
work together to fight extremism.

Now, there is an element there that -- of extremists, especially in the
Northwestern Territories, that tries to infiltrate these areas where they
have been filled with despair. Part of the support that we give to
Pakistan is to help lift these people up out of poverty so that they can
reject extremism and terrorism.

Q Musharraf is saying it's -- the country is more important than
democracy. Are you willing to accept an election which might not be one
that is --

MS. PERINO: We believe the best way for Pakistan to have a stable and
prosperous future is to fully establish democracy. And that's going to
take some time. We know from our own history that it takes a while for
democracy to take hold, and we are living proof that it can happen. But we
are the beneficiaries of a lot of strife that our country went through in
the early days. It is incumbent upon us then to try to help Pakistan to
get back on this path -- and not just Pakistan but other countries as well.

Olivier.

Q Dana, any sense of when the Annapolis conference on the Middle East
would be?

MS. PERINO: Nothing to report yet. As you know, I think Secretary -- I
think you know -- Secretary Rice will be in the region later this week.
And then if there's more to update from there, we'll provide it.

Q And following up on Ben's question, you keep tip-toeing up to the line
of saying that elections in Pakistan can't be considered free and fair if
they're held under a state of emergency. Is that --

MS. PERINO: Why don't I -- I'll just repeat exactly what I said the other
day, which is that in order to have free and fair elections, they can't be
held under a state of emergency.

Q I have a question on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Why does
the President threaten to veto a bill that would solely extend Title VII
jobs discrimination protections to individuals based on sexual orientation?

MS. PERINO: It's been a while since I reviewed that statement of
administration position, so can we get right back to you?

Q Well, I have a follow-up. In terms of -- well, in terms of the
argument about the sanctity of marriage and this bill, it's directed -- the
bill is directed solely at employment and extending the same employment
rights to people that are -- based on sexual orientation as it does to
anyone protected based on gender, race, or religion. So again, why is the
President opposed and threatening a veto?

MS. PERINO: I'm going to give you the short answer, Paula, which is we'll
get back to you. Let me review that SAP again.

Les.

Q Yes, thank you, Dana. Two questions. There are reports of growing
Republican opposition to the proposed law of the sea treaty. And my
question: What is the President's reaction to such GOP opposition?

MS. PERINO: The President is supportive of the treaty, and so is our
military and our State Department. And we have testified on Capitol Hill
multiple times about it. I understand that there are concerns, but we
believe that those have been addressed.

Q The U.S. in some foreign quarters has been given an almost outcast
status because of its war on terror. But France's Sarkozy and Germany's
Merkel have both expressed favorable opinions of the U.S., and Britain's
Gordon Brown is stressing the importance of ties with the U.S. What does
this approval mean to the U.S.?

MS. PERINO: I'm going to have to take a pass. I'll get back to you later.

Q You'll get back to me later?

MS. PERINO: Sure.

Go ahead, Wendell.

Q What time?

MS. PERINO: Let me move forward with Wendell.

Q There's a report in The New York Times today that indicates
investigators are finding 14 of the 17 people killed in the September 16th
shootings involving Blackwater were killed in violation of procedures for
private security firms. Is the President troubled by this, and has he
instructed Attorney General Mukasey to quickly get to the bottom of this?

MS. PERINO: Given that this investigation is still underway, even though
there was a report in a newspaper, I am not able to comment on it.

John.

Q Does the Attorney General have anything to do with the President
authorizing the investigation into the, I think, the warrantless
wiretapping program?

MS. PERINO: This is going to be the same answer, which is there's an
ongoing investigation there and I'm not going to comment on that either.

Q The question was about the security clearance that the President had
to grant or not grant. Are you not able to tell us whether he had changed
his mind, and if not, why?

MS. PERINO: Well, obviously they have their security -- he's being cleared
into the program now, but there's nothing more I can say about it.

Q You can't say why he changed his mind?

MS. PERINO: I cannot.

Q Back to Annapolis. Given that the President has repeatedly said that
it's vital that the Palestinians acknowledge Israel as a Jewish state, and
Saeb Erekat yesterday said -- refused to acknowledge that very basic fact
-- (inaudible) -- higher level talks being held in Annapolis.

MS. PERINO: There has been a lot of increasing chatter as we've moved up
towards the hopeful date of this meeting. Secretary Rice has been in the
region several times, and Steve Hadley has been there, as well. We are
working with the parties in order to bring them along to establish a
feeling for a meeting that could actually result in a substantive core list
of issues that can be worked on in order to get to a Palestinian state. We
believe that we are nearly there. And because Secretary Rice is going to
the region later this week so that she can help bring them along, let's
just let that process play out, because I think that there is good
intention on all sides.

Q But even -- I mean, we know the issues that are on the list, we know
what the final status issues are, but if there's this very basic refusal to
acknowledge a country's right to exist as a Jewish state, how can the
parties even talk?

MS. PERINO: Well, I think that we should hear from President Abbas before
making further judgments.

Q What about Hamas? Do you really think that Hamas is going to
recognize the existence of Israel?

MS. PERINO: Obviously, Hamas is a terrorist organization and it's just --

Q And they rule the -- they rule the Gaza Strip, don't they?

MS. PERINO: Well, it's unfortunate -- for the way that the -- for the
individuals that are living under that rule and in Gaza, it is quite a
serious situation. We are helping provide -- to provide humanitarian
relief, and we would like for that region to be able to return to a
situation where they can try to --

Q But Hamas is not going to recognize the existence of Israel.

MS. PERINO: I'll let them speak for themselves, but I think they have a
track record that would lead you to that conclusion.

Kevin.

Q Dana, has the White House talked about the fact that Bhutto should be
allowed to move freely in her country?

MS. PERINO: We do think that the emergency order should be lifted, that
the constitution should be restored, and that people should be able to have
freedom of movement, that there should be freedom of press, freedom of
expression and freedom of assembly. That is what -- that is the foundation
of a democracy, and we want Pakistan and President Musharraf to return
immediately, as soon as possible. We think as soon as possible -- that
"possible" is now, and we'd like to see it done immediately. Obviously the
situation is evolving, and we continue to be in close contact with his
government.

Q With his government and with Bhutto, specifically?

MS. PERINO: And other opposition party leaders.

Q Dana, ten days into this, what kind of damage has been done to the
relationship between President Bush and President Musharraf?

MS. PERINO: The President doesn't take this personally. The President
believes that it's incumbent upon him as the Commander-in-Chief of the
United States to work with a fellow leader in order to help them along the
path to democracy. He feels an obligation to work with them and not to
just try to -- to throw up our hands and to walk away.

Q Maybe not personally, but certainly he's welcomed President Musharraf
here before; he spoke positively about President Musharraf. And I would
think that what President Musharraf has been doing certainly would cause
the President to rethink his judgment about him.

MS. PERINO: The President -- ever since September 11th, when the President
then started working with President Musharraf in order to fight extremists,
has appreciated the work that they've done to help us in cooperative
efforts to go out against the Taliban and al Qaeda. They've captured
hundreds -- captured or killed hundreds of terrorists that were planning to
hurt Americans or hurt innocent Pakistanis.

Our challenge now is to effectively support the Pakistani people, and this
is -- the President is committed to helping them strengthen the influence
of the moderate influences in the country, to help bring them along and
back to the state of democracy that they enjoyed before, and to establish
more in regards to education reform, health care reform. The President
feels an obligation to help bring them back to democracy, and he doesn't
take it personally.

Q Whatever admiration he had of President Musharraf based on the
President -- the Pakistani President's commitment to the war on terror, has
that been mitigated, diminished? Is it in some way smaller?

MS. PERINO: I think the President is focused at the task at hand, which is
helping them get back on the road to democracy, not on his personal
feelings about it.